I think you’re freaky but I like it a lot

Roger Ballen proves that creativity can be inspired by the most diverse background … and go viral on YouTube.
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Still from videoclip I fink u freeky by Die Antwood in collaboration with Roger Ballen (2012); YouTube

Who’d have thought a geologist with double degrees and a PhD would have been so cool to have been picked up by a rap-rave group and go viral on YouTube?

Seventy-eight million people have watched I fink u freeky by Die Antwood, made in 2012 and directed by South African artist Roger Ballen, after the group’s first use of his photographs were “pirated” without permission. The video went viral – as did Ballen’s career.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina